The 11th Polish
Festival in Portland
is the main event staged each year by the Polish community in
Portland. They say it is the biggest Polish event
in the US west of
Mississippi – and with over 12,000 visitors I
believe it! The Festival features two full days of non-stop folk
performances, exhibitions of Polish heritage, heaps of homemade Polish
food as well as booths with various merchandize. The Polish Song Choir
from Seattle
under dir. of Anna Sawicki is scheduled to perform on Sunday at noon and
at 1:30 pm.

Stanislaw
Skrowaczewski will conduct a concert that
includes Elgar’s Cello Concert performed by
Ralph Kirschbaum, Wagner’s Prelude and
Liebestod to Tristan and
Isolde and
Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra. Mr.
Skrowaczewski is also a composer. He became famous for conducting
Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 60s & 70s. In 1998, his recording of
Bruckner's Symphony no. 9 (with the
Minnesota Orchestra) received the Golden Note Award for the best
original recording in its category.

The same exhibition
that goes on display at the Polish Home first is presented at the main
lobby of the City Hall and is easily available for visiting. The main
part of the documentary exhibition Warsaw
Uprising 1944 consists of documentary photos, maps and text
describing the stages and circumstances of the extraordinary 63-day
struggle. It also pays tribute to the American airmen who died flying
over Warsaw
in September 1944. The main exhibition has been commissioned by the
Polish Consulate in Los Angeles
and the additional exhibit prepared by K. Poraj-Kuczewski. The
exhibition has been organized by Ryszard Kott and is supported by Polish
Home Foundation, Seattle-Gdynia Sister City
Association and the City of
Seattle.

Stanislaw
Skrowaczewski will conduct a concert that
includes Elgar’s Cello Concert performed
by Ralph Kirschbaum, Wagner’s Prelude and
Liebestod to Tristan and
Isolde and
Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra. Mr.
Skrowaczewski is also a composer. He became famous for
conducting Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 60s & 70s. In 1998, his
recording of Bruckner's Symphony no. 9
(with the Minnesota Orchestra) received the Golden Note Award for the
best original recording in its category.

This event organized by the Polish Home
Association celebrates the heroism of the Uprising through music and
poetry and consists of three
parts:

part
1: a concert of Polish patriotic songs by the Polish Song
Choir under direction of Anna Sawicki,

part
2: a performance
We, Warsaw Children Will Fight
for
You, featuring poetry & songs in scenes from the Uprising by
the performance group
from the Polish Home in Seattle under direction of
Barbara Strutynski,

part
3: a piano concert by Iwona Kaminska-Bowlby,
the local artist we all know. Ms. Kaminska-Bowlby will play Chopin
Sonata H moll op. 58 to honor the memory of her father, Jozef Kaminski
('Ziutek') who fought in the
OldTown district of Warsaw

The book exhibition
63 Days and Nights
features books and albums as well as films in English and Polish about
the Uprising with an advice how to obtain them. The exhibition has been
organized by Hanna Gil of the Polish Book Club and is supported by the
Polish Home Foundation. The Foundation plans to donate books and DVDs to
Seattle
libraries to help educate American public about the Warsaw Uprising of
1944 and asks for donations supporting this goal.

Sep 18, 12 pm: Scouts and Cub Scouts’
first meeting at the Polish Home

The Polish Scout
Troop “Kaszuby” invites to their first meeting of the 2004/2005 school
year; both new scouts and cub scouts are invited to attend. The Polish
troop in Seattle
has been active for over 15 years and provides another venue for
immersing Polish-American kids into traditions of the old country. The
troop accepts children of any age, from kindergarten to high school and
is a friendly place to introduce your child to some tradition of the old
country and to scouting at the same time.

The
PolishSchool
in Seattle
starts the 2004/5 school year with an open day on Sep 13 from 6 to 8:30
pm. This is the time to enroll your child if you haven’t done so yet,
talk to the teachers etc. The
PolishSchool is open to children
and adults of varying degrees of language skills, from none to advanced.
Besides Polish language and literature, children learn history and
geography of Poland.
The school has native speakers as teachers.

The Polish Scout
Troop “Kaszuby” invites all members of the Polish community, kids,
parents, grandparents and friends to a yearly bonfire and a singing
together. This event is open to everybody and you don’t have to be a
scout to come and enjoy games and traditional Polish scout & military
songs. Please note that due to space limitation this time around, the
scouts will not be able to serve hotdogs etc as in years past; some
cookies for a good spirit will be there but this is all that is possible
this year! Come and enjoy the singing! Everybody is invited.

The main part of the
documentary exhibition Warsaw
Uprising 1944 consists of documentary photos, maps and text
describing the stages and circumstances of the extraordinary 63-day
struggle. It also pays tribute to the American airmen who died flying
over Warsaw
in September 1944. The main exhibition has been commissioned by the
Polish Consulate in Los Angeles
and the additional exhibit prepared by K. Poraj-Kuczewski. The
exhibition has been organized by Ryszard Kott and is supported by Polish
Home Foundation, Seattle-Gdynia Sister City
Association and the City of
Seattle.